Agresti, Aimee. Illuminate.

Agresti, Aimee.   Illuminate.  Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace  514p  $17.99 978-0-547-62614-7       hs          VG      Fantasy    

In Illuminate, the first in an expected trilogy, Agresti creates an interesting tableau and a classic tale about good versus evil.  The brilliant Haven Terra and her friends Dante and Lance are very surprised to learn that they have each been given a prestigious internship at the soon-to-open, high-end hotel The Lexington in Chicago.  As their internships begin, the friends are excited to meet Alexia and Lucian, the owner and her lead employee, and The Outfit, a group of young adults who appear to be perfect.  When Haven’s photographs begin to show signs of disfigurement that grows over time, she begins to get a better sense of what is really happening at The Lexington.  The characters are all well written, and the author builds suspense, from the first hints of demonism and Satanism, until the somewhat angelic and predictable conclusion.

Young adults interested in angels and demons will find this book engaging and satisfying, and it is a highly recommended addition to high-school and public library collections where there is an interest in this kind of fantasy story. 

Fantasy – Fiction, Satanism – Fiction, Angels – Fiction

n  Lynn Fisher

Adornetto, Alexandra. Halo.

Adornetto, Alexandra Halo
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr 2010 484p 16.99
978-0-312-65626-3 jr/sr Angels - Interpersonal relations - schools VG-BN


Angels have come down to earth to bring good news. However, they can not expose themselves to humans. They must adjust to human life for the time being until they are needed. Bethany the youngest angel, is thrilled but she never imagined that becoming human would bring so many human problems and heartaches.
Three angels came down to earth and took human form. Gabriel the archangel and his sisters Ivy and Bethany. Bethany is one of the youngest angels and although her brother argued that she was not ready to face the hardships on earth, he was overruled and convinced other wise. Gabriel and Ivy have come down many times to help the humans when there has been a need. The presences of Bethany however, has them worried. Bethany must try to fit into the general teenage population. As she learns about life on earth she is amaze at all the things new and wonderful and not so wonderful. She also meets Xavier Woods!
Xavier is a serious young man who lost his girlfriend the year before in a house fire. He is handsome, popular, captain of the soccer team and not interested in any relationships until he see Bethany. Bethany and Xavier were star struck from the moment their eyes met. It should never have happened but somehow love blossomed between this angel and the human. Gabriel and Ivy are beside themselves trying to understand what has gone wrong with their sister, the youngest angel with them.
Then Jake Thorn came to town and terrible things began to happen. At first the connection was not made but then something unexplained happened and it placed all the angels on alert.
Bethany, Xavier and everyone in town were placed in danger and now She must choose her moment of action if she wishes to save her loved ones before it is too late even if it means her life will be on the line. Fantasy Diaz, Magna